- BELLUS to provide BLU-5937 program update, Key Opinion Leader Dr. Jacky Smith to present on chronic cough -

LAVAL, QC, Sept. 20, 2017 /CNW/ - BELLUS Health Inc. (TSX: BLU) (BELLUS Health or the Company), a biopharmaceutical development company advancing novel therapeutics for conditions with high unmet medical need, will host a chronic cough Key Opinion Leader (KOL) presentation and BLU-5937 program update today at 2:00 PM ET.

To listen to the live webcast or to ask questions during the live event, please register at the following link: https://event.webcasts.com/starthere.jsp?ei=1159556&tp_key=4a0ae58b66. An archived version of the webcast and presentation will be available on the Company's website at www.bellushealth.com following the event.

The event will feature a presentation by KOL Dr. Jacky Smith, Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the University of Manchester and Director of the NIHR South Manchester Respiratory and Allergy Clinical Research Facility. Dr. Smith will discuss the clinical presentation of chronic cough, its current unmet medical need and therapeutic options, as well as novel treatment approaches under development.

Dr. Denis Garceau, BELLUS Health's Senior Vice President, Drug Development, will also provide an update on the BLU-5937 program, including recent study results that show a significant reduction in cough with no taste disturbance in two separate preclinical models. In the guinea pig cough model, BLU-5937 demonstrated comparable efficacy to the current leading P2X3 antagonist, Merck & Co's Gefapixant (also named AF-219 or MK-7264). In the rat taste model, BLU-5937 did not show taste inhibition; however, consistent with clinical trial data previously presented by Merck & Co, Gefapixant did significantly impact taste.

Both Dr. Smith and Dr. Garceau will be available to answer questions at the end of their presentations.

About BLU-5937

BLU-5937, a selective P2X3 antagonist, has the potential to be a best-in-class therapeutic for chronic cough patients who do not respond to current therapies. Chronic cough is a cough that lasts more than eight weeks and is associated with significant adverse social, psychosocial and physical effects on quality of life. It is estimated that more than 2.7 million patients suffer from refractory chronic cough in the United States alone.

About BELLUS Health (www.bellushealth.com)

BELLUS Health is a biopharmaceutical development company advancing novel therapeutics for conditions with high unmet medical need. Its pipeline of projects includes BLU-5937 for chronic cough and several other partnered clinical-stage drug development programs.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this news release, other than statements of fact that are independently verifiable at the date hereof, may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation and regulations. Such statements, based as they are on the current expectations of management, inherently involve numerous important risks, uncertainties and assumptions, known and unknown, many of which are beyond BELLUS Health Inc.'s control. Such risks factors include but are not limited to: the ability to expand and develop its project pipeline, the ability to obtain financing, the impact of general economic conditions, general conditions in the pharmaceutical industry, changes in the regulatory environment in the jurisdictions in which BELLUS Health Inc. does business, stock market volatility, fluctuations in costs, changes to the competitive environment due to consolidation, achievement of forecasted burn rate, potential payments/outcomes in relation to indemnity agreements and contingent value rights, achievement of forecasted pre-clinical and clinical trial milestones and that actual results may vary once the final and quality-controlled verification of data and analyses has been completed. In addition, the length of BELLUS Health Inc.'s drug candidates' development process, their market size and commercial value, as well as the sharing of proceeds between BELLUS Health Inc. and its potential partners from potential future revenues, if any, are dependent upon a number of factors. Consequently, actual future results and events may differ materially from the anticipated results and events expressed in the forward-looking statements. The Company believes that expectations represented by forward-looking statements are reasonable, yet there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. The reader should not place undue reliance, if any, on any forward-looking statements included in this news release. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made, and BELLUS Health Inc. is under no obligation and disavows any intention to update publicly or revise such statements as a result of any new information, future event, circumstances or otherwise, unless required by applicable legislation or regulation. Please see BELLUS Health Inc.'s public filings with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities, including the Annual Information Form, for further risk factors that might affect BELLUS Health Inc. and its business.

SOURCE BELLUS Health Inc.

Copyright 2017 Canada NewsWire

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